So NOW you know why my logo is green, blue and orange: freshness, authority and fun! It's a combination I felt communicated experienced yet inviting, fresh approach to marketing that 10stepmarketing represents. To see my logo, and learn how you can get a great logo at a great price, visit http://www.10stepmarketing.com/greatlogo.htm

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

20-year marketing veteran Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners and solo-preneurs successfully market their business, themselves without spending a fortune on marketing. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit http://www.10stepmarketing.com

Niche Marketing : The Affiliate Angle

Add all relevant programmes to list of those you gleaned from Search Engine(s).

Selecting Niche Affiliate Programmes

Be selective in your choice of affiliate programme. Don't just signup for all of programmes you have listed, visit each site and check each one out and make sure you "read each Merchant's terms carefully".

Here are some points for you to consider when deciding which programmes to promote:

• Commission rates - rates vary considerably, check them out to make sure get best deal possible.

• Commission type - does Merchant pay on a pay per lead, pay per click or pay per sale?

• Frequency of payment - most important. Payment frequency can be weekly, two weekly, monthly, quarterly - I've even seen six monthly.

• Minimum payout - what is minimum commission amount merchant is prepared to pay out on. You don't get paid until amount reaches that minimum.

• Cookie duration - cookies are set to capture your referral code and expire after a specific amount of time. Make sure you get longest time possible. Very few of your referrals will buy on first visit, you want enough time for your referral to visit again so that you get commission.

• Minimum traffic requirement - you don't want to find out that your account has been terminated because you aren't sending enough traffic to Merchant's site.

• Are sales tools available - it's in Merchant's interest to help you as much as possible. If they provide sales and marketing tools it makes getting started a lot quicker and shows that Merchant values their Affiliates.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. As I said earlier, check all terms carefully, then select and sign up for programmes which best suit your niche theme and you're ready to start promoting.